Main Task Evaluation
Main Task EvaluationBy Morgan Redman
Media ConventionsIn what ways does your media product, develop
or challenge forms and conventions of real products? First of all
we wanted our main task to challenge the convention that horror/
thriller films are for stereotypically masculine audiences. Many
horror/ thriller films with female leads still conform to the
conventions of other media products through means such as the male
gaze as theorised by Mulvey. For instance, Carrie.We have female
leads in every role in our media production with the villain and
victims being played by females and in a way that is non-sexualised
for a hetero-sexual white male audience. We have not challenged
conventions with the ethnicity of actors used. There is lacking
representation of ethnicities within media texts and we, due to
lacking availability, used only Caucasian and European actors. We
have conformed to conventions in the use of music to build tension
and minor gore which is often a feature of a horror.
Social GroupsHow does your media product represent particular
social groups?Our media product as mentioned in the prior slide
depicts females in roles usually assumed to be played by males.
Additionally, we wanted to have a more socially diverse group of
actors but due to availability we were limited to only English and
European actors who are therefore the represented social group in
our media text.
InstitutionsWhat kind of media institution might distribute your
media product and why?As our product was made on an extremely low
budget, almost no budget except for prosthetic make-up, we would
most likely have our project distributed at a independent film
festival such as Sundance Film Festival and could be exhibited via
BFI cinema. As a British made film that is an independent, a
company such as BBC may distribute our work; other films released
by BBC include horror products such as The Woman in Black. Low
budget horror films are also not uncommon and therefore more
companies would be more likely to take a chance on our media
production than another genre independent film.
AudienceWho would be the audience for your media product?Gender:
All genders due to female lead and orientated plot and characters.
Horror/ thrillers are stereotypically masculine even with female
leads such as Carrie but ours is aimed at all.Ethnicity: Any
ethnicity as long as they can engage in English language due to the
language barrier.Age: 18 and over due to the nature of the BBFC
rating system although younger audiences of teenagers may engage
with this media.Region/ Nationality: Cast is Caucasian and European
and therefore is stereotypically aimed towards this audience. Lack
of other ethnicities is unintentional due to who was available at
the time.Socio-Economic: C1 bracket down to the the E bracket in
the traditional segmentation model due to E being where students
fit into the system.
Audience ContinuedHow did you attract/address your audience?The
most significant way that we addressed our audience is by including
the female leads to encourage all genders that the media product
will appeal to them. We would also distribute our product to
attract audiences via social media with captions that associate it
with various social groups including Female Cast. Moreover, we
could supply our work to an independent film festival to promote
our product to a larger audience.
TechnologiesWhat have you learnt about technologies from the
process of constructing this product?We have expanded our use of
tools and techniques through the employment of a Nikon D5 300
rather than a lower quality video camera. We have also experimented
with more techniques in Premier Pro such as Vignette, Fast Colour
Corrector, Three Way Colour Corrector, Default Transitions and Key
Frames.I was responsible for creating a few props within Photoshop
CC 2014 for our main task. This involved a polaroid template on a
transparent background which I layered over the headshots that I
took using a Canon EOS 450D. I also experimented with the Dodge
tool alongside the Brightness/ Contrast to lighten the faces of the
subjects to create a deathly pale effect. Although I also used the
Burn tool to darken the eyes to create a gormless appearance.
Learning ProcessLooking back at your preliminary task, what do
you feel you have learnt in the progression from it towards the
final product of the main task?In conclusion, we have learnt from
our prior mistakes including continuity errors, how to focus the
video-camera and how to zoom.We have also learnt how to use the
correct tripods and dolly systems where appropriate. Additionally,
we have also learned some techniques in certain software that aided
the final product including Photoshop Dodge and Burn and Premier
Pro tools as outlined in the pervious slide. Also, we have come to
the conclusion that some production techniques appear more
aesthetically pleasing and smoother when done in editing rather in
filming including zoom/ cut ins.
Finished Product Version 1
